Starting the Strategy from Frieren

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Elves are a race with nearly infinite lifespans and almost no desire for reproduction. Love, naturally, exists because of the need to reproduce. 

Therefore, Frieren has never been able to understand the love that humans sing praises of, and neither could the elves in her village. 

She naturally assumed that Seri, another elf, wouldn't understand it either. However, the appearance of Zense made Frieren realize that Seri must have already come to understand what love is. 

Now, only she remains... feeling a little lonely. 

---

"The teleportation array is set up," Zense reminded, her fair face glowing softly under the natural light. Her delicate, slender face looked as if it belonged to a doll in a display case. 

When she saw the painting in Ivan's hands, her eyes instantly widened, shining with brilliance. 

"Dad, this painting is..." 

"A replica of the doodle you made when you were a child. How is it? Does it look similar?" 

"Yes, it's very similar," Zense replied with a faint smile. "Place it on the teleportation array and inject magic to activate it. The golden one leads to Mother's side, and the orange one leads to Flamme's side. Don't mix them up." 

Ivan followed the instructions, placing the letter and the painting on the array, then injected half of his magic power to activate it. 

It seemed that long-distance teleportation consumed quite a bit of magic. 

---

Meanwhile, inside the ancient elven tree. 

Seri, who was conducting magical research, noticed the teleportation array glowing red. She knew that Zense had successfully arrived at Ivan's side and set up the array. 

She put down her work, walked over to the array, and unfolded the letter. After reading it twice, she put it away and examined the painting. 

"Hmph, thinking something this sentimental would move me? How shallow." 

She then took out her own replica of the painting for comparison. Clearly, her version was better, with colors that more closely matched the original. 

"I still painted it better!" 

Seri crossed her arms, looking quite pleased with herself. 

---

"Noted." 

The letter sent back through the magic array contained only two words. However, Ivan wasn't discouraged at all. He knew Seri's personality all too well. 

If she truly didn't care, she wouldn't have bothered to reply at all. The fact that she sent back two words meant she was in a relatively good mood. 

---

"By the way, Dad, I noticed something strange on my way here. Many villagers were emitting light particles that gathered toward you. Have you noticed anything unusual about yourself?" 

"Ah, that. I already know about it." 

Ivan explained the origin and use of the "Laughter Faith Power" to Zense, clarifying once again that the incident with Frieren and the Lucky Wolf was just a misunderstanding. 

"I see. So, it requires many people to simultaneously generate emotions for the faith power to manifest and be absorbed by you..." 

Zense had a sudden idea. 

"How about this? We could officially set up a festival for people to celebrate at the same time. For example, we could establish it during this tax-free period and call it the 'Spring Festival'... It's a shame that projection and live-streaming technology is still in development, otherwise we could host a Spring Festival Gala." 

A Spring Festival Gala in another world... That actually sounds pretty good! 

In a world where entertainment is severely lacking, using projection and live-streaming to showcase performances would be a game-changer. As long as it didn't include too many nonsensical elements like some directors tend to do, it could harvest a massive amount of Laughter Faith Power. 

Of course, this would require a relatively peaceful environment. If people were constantly worried about war, they wouldn't have the mood to watch any galas. 

---

Ivan then contacted Flamme through another magic array, skipping the mushy parts and directly asking about the current situation in the capital and whether any new magic had been developed from the "Scale of Obedience." 

After a long wait, Flamme finally replied. Compared to Seri's two-word response, her letter contained much more information. 

The capital had already learned about Ivan's actions in Suiyecheng. The noble circles were in an uproar, angrily denouncing Ivan as a barbarian unworthy of being a noble. 

In human society, there had always been an unspoken rule that conflicts between nobles should not result in fatalities. Even if one were captured in battle, they would be treated well and released unharmed after their family paid the ransom. 

But what had Ivan done? He bullied widows and orphans, seized the property of the former lord, beheaded nobles and hung their heads on the city walls, turned their bodies into zombies to mine, and confiscated their wealth so thoroughly that it seemed he had scraped three feet off the ground. 

A bandit! 

No, worse than a bandit—more like a demon! A demon among demons, as most demons hadn't killed as many nobles as Ivan had. 

As for Ivan's efforts in distributing supplies during the winter, which significantly reduced deaths from cold and starvation, the nobles conveniently ignored that. 

After all, they were just a bunch of lowly commoners. 

Moreover, most of the supplies Ivan distributed were confiscated from noble families, which made many nobles in the capital even more resentful. They demanded that the king arrest Ivan and punish him. 

The king was also displeased with Ivan's actions, his face turning dark upon hearing the news. However, since he had personally granted Ivan his authority, he couldn't take it back now. He had no choice but to protect Ivan, though he still needed to reprimand him to prevent any further "spectacular" incidents that might destabilize the entire kingdom. 

A scolding letter was likely already on its way. 

"Tch." 

Ivan couldn't help but feel annoyed. "To secure the outside, we must first settle the inside. It seems I'll have to find an opportunity to deal with those noisy nobles." 

---

Even if the king couldn't withstand the pressure and decided to arrest him, Ivan wasn't worried. With overwhelming strength, he could kill ten people in ten steps. As long as he killed fast enough, the charge of rebellion wouldn't catch up to him. 

And if his strength wasn't enough, he could always call for reinforcements. Flamme might hesitate, but Seri had no such reservations. 

If he clung to her soft thighs and begged long enough, she would undoubtedly turn the capital into a river of blood out of sheer annoyance. 

However, that would be a last resort. Doing so would cause massive chaos in the kingdom, giving the demons an opportunity to benefit. It was better to take things slowly and not rush. 

---

"Lord Ivan, something terrible has happened!" 

Wenli, the former village chief and now Ivan's secretary, rushed in to report: "We've received news that the demons have captured the lord of Tengmancheng. The situation is critical, and they're requesting our support!" 

Ivan immediately stood up from his chair. 

If Tengmancheng fell, Suiyecheng would be the next to face the demon army head-on, which would be extremely detrimental to their development. 

Moreover, the capture of Tengmancheng's lord... This was a great opportunity! 

"Issue the order—assemble the entire army!"

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